Multiverse Adventures
by Not My Real Name
Summary: A mysterious force is threatening the multiverse, and it's up to a small band of heroes to stop it. The heroes will face difficult challenges along the way, and meet many new faces, friend and foe alike.
1. The Adventure Begins

The Adventure Begins

Annet Myer was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, a normal training regimen she'd taken up lately.

She was now wearing a short blue shirt, a white jacket, a short white skirt, white socks, and blue shoes, as well as long, blue fingerless gloves with gold bracers, and a long headband with a white-and-red triangle pattern. She also had a gold necklace with a red stone set in the center.

_'I can't believe it's been three years since that day,' _she thought as she stopped to look around, getting a fix on her surroundings.

But soon, she saw a strange light a little ways to the east. "That doesn't look good."

She began jumping rooftops in that direction, to investigate the situation.

At the same time, a young man with blond hair, dark blue eyes, and wearing a black shirt, red jacket, and blue jeans was running along the ground, when a portal opened in front of him, forcing him to stop.

"What's this?" he asked, "What's going on?"

Soon, a bunch of pudgy red robots came out of the portal. They all had a goofy grin on their faces, and were armed with a combination of guns, lances, bazookas, and a few of them had shields.

Before the boy had time to ask them what they were, the ones with ranged weapons opened fire, and the ones with lances charged, prompting him to dodge, reaching behind him and pulling a sword out of its scabbard. The blade was glistening a bright red in the moonlight.

"So," he said, "That's the way you wanna do this. This might actually be fun."

He then charged at the robots, and struck the shield one was holding, getting his sword stuck in it and working to pull it out, as another was coming up behind him.

But as it was raising its lance to strike, a magic bolt struck it hard in the back, destroying it. The young man kicked the robot he was fighting with away and turned to see what had happened, seeing that a young woman had arrived.

"Looks like you've got your hands full," she said, pulling out a pair of boomerangs and threw them at two robots. The way they caught the light told the young man that these weren't wooden toys or anything. These were curved metal blades, which cut arms off of the ones they hit before going back to the girl, allowing the young man to come in and finish them off with some well-placed sword swings.

They repeated this process until all the robots were scrapped. Neither of them appeared to have any real injuries.

"Not bad," the boy said, looking at the girl.

"Not bad yourself," she replied, "Name's Annet Myer."

"Hunter Drake."

"Any idea what those things wanted?" Annet asked.

"Nope," Hunter replied, "and I'm curious as to where these things came from, so I'm going in."

"I'm coming too," Annet said.

"No need. I got this."

Annet put her hands on her hips and smirked at him. "Really?"

"Fine," Hunter said, "I could use someone to talk to anyway."

And with that, they both jumped into the portal.

Hunter and Annet came out into what they thought was a high-tech military base of some sort, with lots of robots like the ones they'd just trashed, patrolling around a large, tower-like structure that appeared to be the primary building of the base.

Luckily for them, the portal spat them out behind a building, out of sight of them, as there were a lot of them.

"Okay," Annet said softly, "any ideas?"

Hunter began thinking, not exactly his strong suit. "Hmmm...If there's that many of them around that large structure, then it's a good bet there's something important in there."

Annet nodded. "I coulda figured that out myself. The question is, what is it?"

"That, I don't know," Hunter said, "but there's gotta be a back way in. You know. A supply tunnel. All we have to do is sneak into the base that way and see just what's in there."

"Okay," Annet said, "Now, how are we supposed to get there? This is the only real cover I see."

Hunter looked around, noting that Annet was right. "Well, I guess I can distract them with something."

"With what?" Annet asked.

Hunter held out his hand, and a fireball appeared. "With this."

He tossed the fireball at fuel depot a little ways off, hitting it squarely and causing it to explode.

The robots all looked over that way and charged, thinking they were under attack from that direction. Once they were cleared out enough, Hunter and Annet ran towards the base, taking out the few robots that stood guard as they entered, and coming up to a split hallway as an intruder alarm began to sound.

"Should we split up from here?" Hunter asked.

Annet nodded, and went right, while Hunter went left.

Hunter ran down the hall, feeling a powerful energy somewhere. He followed that feeling, finding it was above him, prompting him to look for a way upstairs, all while cutting down and blasting any robots in his path that attacked him.

Eventually, he'd find a spiral staircase, and began to ran up it, knowing it would likely lead all the way to the top floor.

Annet followed the hall until she came to an elevator of some sort. Not thinking anything of it, she stepped inside, and rode it to up to wherever it was going to take her.

On the way up she began to think about Darkstone, Essence, and Miranda back in her world, and wondered what they were up to at the moment. She still remembered how they had saved her life, and she still kept in touch with them after that.

But, she soon remembered that this was not the time to stroll down Memory Lane, and focused again on what she and Hunter were here to find out.

* * *

On the top floor of the base, a somewhat portly man, resembling the robots Hunter and Annet had fought somewhat, was standing over a console, in which seven gemstones had been placed into specially-designed sockets.

It was then that the alarm went off, and he noticed it right away.

"Well," he said, "go ahead and try to stop me, Sonic. I'm ready for you this time."

He was quite tall, his eyes hidden behind round sunglasses, and with goggles on his forehead. He wore a fancy red coat, white gloves, and black pants that had boots integrated into them. His most striking features, though, was his beak-like nose, and the long, red moustache that extended to either side of his face.

"It's only a matter of time before I can use Chaos Control to transport my base to another dimension, and steal its technology for myself!"

He then caught a glimpse of the security camera feeds from the monitor. "Wait a second. Neither of these two are Sonic! Who are they?"

He then chuckled. "I guess it doesn't really matter. They'll fare just as well as Sonic would."

* * *

Soon, the elevator door opened, and Annet was greeted by a few different kinds of robots. In addition to the red ones she and Hunter had fought before, there were similar ones with wings and thrusters instead of arms and legs, with laser cannons fitted to their undersides, as well as large, grey and silver robots armed with large hammers. There were also a couple of robots that resembles wizards, with red robes, staffs, and hats.

"Well," Annet said, "this'll be fun"

She quickly tossed a magic bolt at one of the smaller robots, trashing it and damaging a few around it. But, one of the wizards waved its wand, and the damaged robots appeared to be repaired instantly.

Annet figured those guys were like the healers in a group of adventurers, and therefore were high-priority targets, and began to rush at them, boomerangs at the ready.

She threw one of them at one of the robots, but hit it at a bad angle, and instead of damaging it, it flipped over, its robes folding down due to gravity, hiding the wizard-like form, and revealing a more sinister-looking grey sorcerer-like face. Annet was so startled by the change that she didn't notice it wave its staff in her direction.

Soon, a ring of energy formed around her, and shrank down, pinning her arms. "ACK!" she screamed as the ring bound her arms, struggling to break the energy ring, and not noticing the big robot preparing to smash her with its hammer.

Fortunately, before it could, a fireball hit the wizard-bot in the face, destroying it, and causing the ring of energy to be dispelled. Annet then noticed the big robot and dodged the hammer at the last second, looking around to see that Hunter had been the one to save her.

"Looks like we're even," Annet said, landing near the other wizard and taking it out with her boomerang.

"Guess so," Hunter replied, taking out a couple of the smaller robots with a swing of his sword.

The two of them made short work of what remained of the smaller units, before Hunter jumped on the head of one of the big guys, and Annet jumped onto the other. The two robots both faced each other and readied their hammers, but their foes jumped off of them at the last second, causing the two robots to smash each other's heads in.

Hunter brushed himself off and looked over to Annet. "Well, that wasn't so hard."

Annet nodded. "Now let's keep moving."

Before they could start off again, laughter filled the room. "You two aren't going anywhere!" A voice said, as a large flying mecha descended into the room, piloted by the man from the top floor.

"Alright, old man," Annet said, "You'd better explain how a portal to our town opened on this base."

"What!" he asked, "You mean to tell me you two are from a different world!"

"I guess so," Hunter, "now, who are you, and where are we?"

"It seems only fair that I should tell you," the man replied, "You may call me Dr. Robotnik, and you are currently on the planet Mobius, soon to be the home of my empire!"

"Empire, huh?" Hunter asked, "Well, I think we have a thing or two to say about that."

"We'll see about that," Robotnik replied, as two pieces of his mecha detached, converting into giant hands and clenching into fists.

He sent one of them towards the two of them, and Hunter jumped onto it for the return trip, preparing to swing his sword at the main body. However, when he did so, a barrier came up, blocking his attack completely, and knocking him away.

"Is that really the best you can do?" Robotnik taunted, "I'd have expected that from Sonic."

Hunter simply got back to his feet, neither he nor Annet questioning who this "Sonic" person was, as they both worked on dodging punches from the giant fists.

"Any ideas on how to fight this thing?" Annet asked.

"Just one," Hunter replied, "but we have to see what that machine's palms look like."

Soon, one hand opened up, revealing a laser in its palm that was rapidly charging.

Hunter saw his chance, and threw a fireball at it. However, it didn't do nearly enough damage to disable the hand, and it was able to fire at them, but they were able to roll out of harm's way.

They continued to avoid punches until the hand opened up again, and they both fired attacks at the palm laser. This time, the hand's laser shorted out, and it fell to the ground.

They repeated the process for the second hand, dodging attacks, and hitting it when the palm was exposed, and it fell to the ground as well. They'd hear something power down, as the barrier appeared to fizzle out.

Seeing his chance, Hunter jumped onto one of the downed robots, and jumped off of it to reach Robotnik, swinging his sword hard onto the cockpit of the mech, this time causing damage.

But, as soon as he'd done so, the barrier came back up, knocking him onto one of the hands. Both hands soon reactivated, and the one hand clenched itself around Hunter as they listed themselves back into the air.

"You may have disabled the lasers in my robot's hands," Robotnik said, "but that's not all they can do."

Annet watched as the hand holding Hunter began to tighten its grip, causing him to cry out in pain. She almost didn't see the other one coming right at her to grab her as well, but noticed and was able to fend it off with a well-placed magic bolt.

It continued to attack with punches, which Annet was able to avoid with some skill.

Eventually, the barrier came down, and Annet waited for the hand to try to punch again. She jumped on top of it and rode it to the cockpit, firing a bolt of magic at it and causing damage again.

"Hmmm," Robotnik said, "you two are better than I thought."

Annet landed under the hand, and was unable to react before it grabbed her and lifted her up.

"But pests like you need to be dealt with. However, you two do have one chance to save yourselves. Surrender, and I'll let you both live to be my servants once I create my empire."

"Two words," Hunter said, "forget it!"

"What he said," Annet added.

"Suit yourselves," Robotnik said, laughing as his machine hands began to crush the two of them, causing them both to cry out in pain.

Soon, something struck both hands in rapid succession, causing them to drop Hunter and Annet and fall to the ground.

The two of them looked around, seeing a strange sight. Standing on top of one of the hands was a blue humanoid hedgehog, with green eyes, and clad in nothing but white gloves and socks, and red shoes, with white straps down the middle ending in gold buckles on the outside.

"Now, now, Eggman," he said, smirking and wagging his infer tauntingly, "it's not polite to start the party without the guest of honor."

Robotnik turned and looked at the hedgehog with a comically angry expression, bur composed himself. "I guess you're right, Sonic. Here's a party favor for you."

Beneath the cockpit, a large laser extended, charged, and fired a huge beam at Sonic, who simply jumped over it and curled into a ball, spinning at high speeds, and launching himself at the cockpit of the mech, hitting it and causing it to fall the ground and begin to explode. Robotnik escaped by ejecting in a round hovercraft that had served as the cockpit for the larger machine.

Hunter got up and helped Annet to his feet. "Are you okay?"

Annet nodded. "Yeah."

They both turned to Sonic. "Thanks for the save," Hunter said, "I'm Hunter Drake, and this is Annet Myer."

"Nice to meet ya," Sonic said, rubbing his nose with his index finger, "name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

But before they could continue with pleasantries, the explosion jogged the console upstairs, causing the seven gems to glow brightly, and release a huge surge of power, engulfing the whole complex...

* * *

Elsewhere, an alarm was blaring in a small ship, causing its sole occupant to fall off of the retractable bed he'd been sleeping on at the time.

"Ugh," he said as he got up, "Okay, alarm off!"

The alarm ceased, and he went over to the console to see what was up, finding that his computer was picking up strange readings from the planet nearby.

"Hmmm," he said, "well, I guess losing sleep over the alarm's the least of my worries. I'd better check this out."

And with that, he sat down in the pilot's seat. He had black hair, dark blue eyes, and was currently wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.

"Alright, disengage autopilot."

"Voice key verified as Obsidian Wolfe," the ship's computer said, "autopilot disengaged."

And with that, Obsidian set a course for the planet, and began the landing procedures. He closed the blast shield over the cockpit, and strapped himself in for reentry.

As his ship entered the atmosphere, the outside temperature climbed rapidly from the intense friction of reentry, while it remained comfortable within the craft. Obsidian paid attention to measurements of both interior and exterior temperatures, so he knew when to engage the thrusters to slow his descent.

The ship soon made a soft landing in a forest clearing, and the hatch came down, Obsidian taking a look around after it stopped. He was now also wearing a black jacket, and had some basic survival gear on him now.

He pulled out a hand scanner to see what direction the readings were coming from, and headed that way, soon coming to what looked like it had been a laboratory of some sort. He entered slowly, cautious of what he may find inside...


	2. The Mysterious Sorceress

The Mysterious Sorceress

In the depths of the laboratory Obsidian had uncovered, was a chamber that had remained undisturbed since the structure's abandonment. Inside was a computer terminal and a stasis capsule, inside which was a teenage girl. The fluid inside the pod obscured the color of her skin and hair, but her ears were rather long, pointing straight up on either side of her head. She was clad only in a leotard, and had a mask on her face, attached to an air hose which enabled her to breathe.

Soon, however, the girl's hand and eyes began to twitch, as if she'd suddenly become aware of something, or someone, that had recently entered the area...

* * *

Meanwhile, in another dimension, a young girl was skating along a sidewalk in a Japanese city. She looked to be about 10 years old, and had short brown hair, green eyes, and was wearing the uniform for the school she attended.

Soon, a robed figure stepped out of an alley in front of her.

"Out of the way!" she yelled, trying to brake.

The figure looked over to her, but didn't seem to respond to her, and the girl plowed right into them, both of them falling in a heap.

The girl slowly got up and looked at the person she'd just knocked over, to see it was a woman with dark green eyes, very dark red hair, almost black, and wearing clothes that made her look like a sorceress from a fantasy movie.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "are you okay?"

The woman just looked at her, as if she didn't understand her.

"I guess you don't speak Japanese then," she said, before the woman touched her forehead, and said something in a strange language. The girl felt her head going all fuzzy afterwards, and the woman caught her as she fell and pulled her into the alley.

After a few seconds, the girl's mind cleared up, and she looked at her. "What did you just do to me?"

"I probed your mind," the woman replied, "but only to learn your language. I didn't scan your memories or anything. And don't worry, I'm not hurt or anything."

The girl sighed with relief. "My name's Sakura Kinomoto."

"Call me Pandora," the woman replied, "It's nice to meet you, Sakura."

She then looked around. "Sad to say, I'm unfamiliar with this city. Would you happen to know where I can get some food, and maybe somewhere to sleep for the night?"

"Well," Sakura said, "why don't you come with me to my house? I'm sure my brother won't mind if you just crashed there for the night."

Pandora nodded. "Are you sure? I am a total stranger, you know."

Sakura nodded. "Now come on." She then got to her feet and began to skate off.

Pandora followed her. _This girl, Sakura, _she thought, _the way she offered to help me despite having just met me... Could she be the girl I've been searching for? I guess there's only one way to find out..._

Pandora looked around, making sure they were alone, seeing that they weren't. There were plenty of people looking at her strangely due to her clothes. Most assumed she was in costume for a convention or something.

She then looked at Sakura's skates. She was aware she'd move a lot faster in those than if she was running, so she had no chance of catching her on them. But, she didn't want to alarm her so she'd skate out of range of a spell, so she thought up a plan.

"Hey, Sakura," she said, "why don't we head through a park? So I can watch you skate for a while. I'd like to see how it's done so I can give it a try."

"Well," Sakura said, "it'll take a lot longer that way, but I guess it's alright."

She then skated towards a large park, and Pandora ran after her, doing her best to keep up, having been right about her skates.

"I think I'll just sit down and watch from there," she said, taking a seat on the bench nearby and watching as Sakura began to skate around, showing her some of the basics, such as how to keep moving, and how to stop.

Pandora watched. "You're rather good at this."

"Well," Sakura said, "I'm a star athlete at my school."

"I see," Pandora said, smiling. She glanced around to see if anyone was looking, and didn't see anyone. She then pointed at Sakura's feet discreetly, and said something in her native tongue under her breath.

"Now, let me show you one of my best moves," Sakura said, starting to skate off. However, her feet wouldn't move, and she looked down to see what was wrong. It appeared as though she was standing on a glue-like substance of some sort, which was strong enough to keep her wheels from turning.

"W-what is this!" she asked, a little startled by this, but thinking it had just been spilled on the ground. She tried to lift her feet out of it, but they were stuck pretty well.

Pandora came over to her. "I'll have you out in no time," she said, pulling out a small device from her belt, "just relax a bit."

Sh then held the device to her mouth and blew through it, causing a cloud of powder to shoot out at Sakura. "Hey!" Sakura yelled, "What are...you..." Before she could finish, she passed out, falling forward into Pandora's arms. Pandora then used a spell to get rid of the glue, and picked the sleeping girl up, carrying her off, while making sure nobody could see her do so be using back alleys and such.

A couple hours later, Sakura's eyes began to flutter open. She'd initially see that she was lying on a very soft bed, with expensive linens. She'd then see something that startled her a little. When she lifted herself up, she saw that her sleeve looked a little lighter than before, and strands of long brown hair fell over her shoulders.

"Strange," she said, reaching for her head to find it wasn't a wig, "why are my clothes different and my hair so long?"

She started to get up, and found herself disoriented. Everything appeared to be a little bit smaller than before, and she felt like she was supporting more weight than usual on her legs. She looked around. It was rather dark, so she couldn't see much. She stumbled around until she found a light switch and flipped it.

When the lights came on, she winced for a moment until her eyes readjusted, and then saw she was in a very fancy bedroom, looking as though it were in a large mansion of some sort.

But, the most shocking thing was when her eyes landed on the full-body mirror on the wall, and she saw the 16-year-old girl in it. She moved her hand a little bit, and almost jumped when the reflection did the same. That was when she realized that she'd somehow been aged by six years, and nearly fainted.

She soon shook off the surprise, and went to open the door, only to find it had been locked from the outside. She began to wonder what exactly this Pandora had wanted, after kidnapping her and aging her like this.

She sat on the bed and began to think of how to deal with this. She checked around her neck, finding she was still wearing the pendant she had on before. Sighing with relief, she looked around to see if there was a small box anywhere, one that someone would usually store a deck of trading cards in. However, she didn't find anything, and was a bit scared now.

Soon, the door opened, and Pandora came in, bearing a tray of freshly-prepared food.

"Glad to see you're awake," she said, smiling at Sakura.

"Please tell me why I'm here," Sakura said, "and how I'm older now."

"It's a long story why you're here," Pandora said, "as for your age, well; I had a bit of a mishap carrying you here."

"Mishap?"

Pandora nodded. "First, how old to I look?"

Sakura took a look at her. "Um...you look like you're 20 or so."

Pandora nodded. "But, I'm actually much, much older than that."

"How's that possible?"

Pandora looked at her seriously. "Are you sure you wanna know?"

Sakura nodded.

"Very well. I've been gifted with eternal youth, but it comes at a cost. Every so often, if I so much as brush up against a maiden, and I mean my skin touching hers, then I drain life energy from them."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock.

"Luckily, I was able to break contact with you before too long," Pandora said, "and so you only aged six years. You're a very lucky girl."

However, instead of being relieved, Sakura looked at her feet in sadness. "I-I can't go home looking like this. How will I explain this?"

"Don't worry," Pandora said, smiling, "it's reversible, and I'd be happy to reverse it, right after the ritual."

Sakura cringed. "R-ritual?"

"I need a pure-hearted maiden to lift the curse off of me," Pandora said, "I think you might be that maiden, Sakura. Now, please, eat and get some rest."

Sakura looked at her food, and was surprised to see it was comprised of her favorites. "Did you probe my mind again?"

Pandora nodded. "I needed to know foods you were familiar with."

Sakura nodded. "What did you do with my clothes?"

"They're in the laundry room," Pandora said, "I'm going to mend them for you and give them back once you're back to your proper age."

"And the box of cards I had?"

"Those I took for safe-keeping." Pandora replied, "You can have them back tomorrow."

Sakura nodded.

"Well," Pandora said, "enjoy your food, Sakura." She then got up and went off; leaving the door unlocked this time.

Sakura initially didn't want to eat it, because this was a strange place, and she didn't know Pandora at all. But soon, a combination of her hunger, and how nice the food looked, as well as how it was her favorites, caused her to disregard that feeling and eat hungrily.

Pretty much as soon as she was finished, Sakura snuck out of the room, seeing that the door had been left open. Not so much to escape as it was to find her cards, feeling helpless without them.

She wandered the hallway, admiring the décor as she went. The place was decorated a little like a palace, which impressed and scared her at the same time.

Eventually, she came across another door that was left slightly open, and peeked inside. It appeared to be a library of some sort, with the walls lined with shelves, all filled with books, and a few other items she couldn't identify immediately. She could also see Pandora was sitting at the desk, reading a book lying open in front of her.

Soon, she looked up from her book, and looked at the door. "I know you're there, Sakura," she said, "please, tell me what you want."

Sakura opened the door more after hearing that. "I-I was wondering where the bathroom was."

"Oh," Pandora said, "down the hall to your left."

"Thanks," Sakura then started to head that way, and went into the bathroom, staying by the door so she could hear Pandora when she left her study.

In about half an hour, Pandora finally stepped out of her study, and Sakura could hear her footsteps coming her way, but she soon walked past the bathroom. Sakura figured the master bedroom was that way, and stepped out of the bathroom once she was sure Pandora was past her, and quickly made her way to the study.

Once inside, Sakura took a look at all the shelves, seeing nothing but books and a small crystal ball. She then turned to see the desk, seeing the book Pandora had left on it. She was tempted to open it and take a look at what she had been reading, but remembered how Pandora spoke another language before, and she probably couldn't read the text, so she ignored the book and looked at the other things on the desk.

There were a few sheets of paper, as well as an inkwell and a quill, which threw Sakura off a bit, until she remembered Pandora had eternal youth, and might be from when this was the norm. Ignoring this, she searched the drawers. With luck, she found her cards in the very first drawer she checked. Strapping them onto her belt again, she paused when she heard a faint sound, like someone calling for help.

She looked around, finding that it originated from the crystal ball on the bookshelf, and going over to it. "What's going on?" she asked, "Who's calling me?"

"I'm in the crystal!" a distinctly female voice called out, "My name's Miranda, and I've been trapped in here for a few weeks!"

"How is that possible?" Sakura asked, "Wouldn't you starve or suffocate?"

"I thought so too," Miranda said, "but I think the crystal has some sort of pocket dimension inside it, that generates all the food, water, and air I need."

Sakura was utterly confused now. "How do I get you out?"

"I don't know," Miranda replied, "but at least take me with you when you escape."

Sakura nodded. Grabbing and pocketing the crystal ball, she then ran off to look for some way out of the mansion. Even an open window would do, as long as she could get through it.

Eventually, she came across a door leading to a balcony. Checking it, she found it was locked, but remembered she had her pendant. It looked like an elaborate key, with a star and a pair of wings on top. She put the key into the keyhole on the door and turned it. It glowed slightly as the door was unlocked, and she stepped onto the balcony.

She then reached into her cardbox, and pulled out one of the cards, holding it in front of her. It had the image of a bird on the front of it. She then took her pendant, and it transformed into a staff, with the same design as the key had on top. She tapped the card with the tip of her staff and whispered "Fly."

As soon as she did, a pair of wings appeared on her back, and she took off, flying low enough that nobody would be able to see her.

However, an energy web formed in front of her at one point, and she wasn't able to stop in time to avoid hitting it. As soon as she did, it became solid and entangled her.

Sakura grunted as she hit the ground, nearly immobilized, with her staff landing a good few feet away. She looked over, knowing her only chance was to reach it and summon another card to help her free herself. She started to inch herself closer to it, and it took a good few minutes to reach it, after which she tried to get her hand to a position where she could grab it.

Once it was in her hand, she tried to reach for her cards with her other hand. It took a lot of force, but she was able to reach them, and draw a card. It had a picture of a little girl in a somewhat Indian outfit. She let go of it, and it remained in place through magic, allowing her to hit it with her staff once she moved.

"Power!" she called out as she hit it. The card glowed, and Sakura could feel her whole body filled with immense strength, allowing her to easily break free of her bonds. She then summoned her wings once more and took off again.

* * *

Obsidian entered the lab cautiously, turning on his flashlight as he did so. He took a look around the lobby. Most of it was in disrepair, as it hadn't been used in quite some time. He could still make out where the reception desk was, but doubted any of the equipment in the room had any power, so he continued onward.

As he stepped fully into the room, however, he felt something in his head. It was a new feeling to him, but at the same time felt eerily familiar to him in some way. It was as if someone were reaching out to him somewhere.

After looking around the room, he was able to locate a door that hadn't been blocked by rubble, and saw that it was just barely open. He looked around, locating a metal pole that had fallen onto the ground. Picking it up, he headed back to the door, and shoved it into the opening, using the pole to widen it so he could get through.

The next room looked to be some sort of genetics laboratory. It had a few glass cylinders that most likely once contained specimens, plus a couple tables that were likely used for examinations.

"What did they do here?" he asked himself as he pressed onward.

He soon came across a switch for the emergency power, and flipped it. Soon, lights came on all over the room, yet some were too old to give off much light anymore. He turned to see that the door he'd entered had closed itself again; showing that power to the door systems had also been restored. Keeping that in mind, Obsidian kept moving, following what he was sensing rather than what his scanner indicated.

Soon, he came to what looked like a high-security door. It was a lot sturdier than the other doors in the area, and might withstand anything he could throw at it, save ramming his ship into it. However, Obsidian wasn't going to strand himself on this planet, so he looked around for a way to open it, spotting a keypad on the wall. It was the kind that required a key card in order to input the code, and Obsidian could see it also implemented a retinal scanner. It was obvious whatever was behind this door was very important.

However, that didn't stop Obsidian. Whatever, or rather, whoever, he was sensing lie beyond this obstacle, and he was determined to get past it to reach his goal. He took a look at the door itself, and found that it was similar in technology to one he'd encountered elsewhere. It used four magnetic clamps, situated on the corners. With that in mind, he was able to determine that the door's locking mechanism relied on power being supplied to it.

However, he could tell it had its own power source, separate from both the main and emergency power. However, there was one weakness in the door mechanism: the keypad. The way it was positioned told Obsidian that, while a would-be thief wouldn't have a snowball's chance opening the door; someone like him had no trouble at all.

He reached into one of the compartments on his belt, and pulled out a small EMP device. He placed it on the keypad, pressed the button, and got out of the way. The keypad then sparked, and eventually exploded. Once it did, the door's magnetic locks released, as they were no longer receiving any power, and Obsidian was able to open the door and proceed.

He then found himself in a chamber that looked pristine; untouched by time since the last time the door was closed. Inside were two things that normally wouldn't be of much significance, a computer terminal and another glass capsule, but it was what, or rather, who, was inside said capsule that got Obsidian's attention: a girl, looking around his age, floating in some sort of fluid, likely to keep her in stasis.

He went over to the terminal, and powered it up. Soon, he found himself looking at what appeared to be vital signs, probably of the girl in the capsule. He turned to the girl, and it dawned on him. The first was that this girl might also be what he sensed upon entering this place.

He saw a container near the console, and reached down to get it. As he did, his other hand landed on a large button, and he could hear something that sounded like liquid draining. When he looked up, he saw that the fluid in the capsule was draining, and the girl soon fell to her knees in the pod.

Her skin was a normal tone, and her hair was a dark pink color. The leotard she was wearing was also purple.

Soon, the glass lifted up once the fluid was gone, and the girl began to fall. Obsidian caught her, and undid the mask on her face. Obsidian then felt himself blush slightly upon looking at her. She was beautiful. He quickly shook it off, and set her down so he could empty the container. Inside were pairs of special gloves and boots, likely meant for her as he noted they matched her leotard. He quickly placed them into his bag, and lifted the girl into his arms, holding her bridal-style and carrying her off, back to his ship.


	3. The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter

Hunter's eyes slowly opened after the bright flash in Robotnik's base, and he got up and looked around. Immediately, he came to the conclusion that he, Sonic, and Annet were obviously not in the base any longer. From what he could tell, they were now in a dense forest of some sort, with unusual energy emanating from all directions.

Very quickly, he ran over and shook his two companions roughly to wake them up. Annet's eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him. "Hunter?" she asked, "Where are we?"

"Dunno," Hunter said, helping her to her feet, "some sort of forest, but do you feel that energy?"

"Yeah," Annet replied, "it feels so…soothing…"

"This is probably a peaceful forest," Hunter guessed, "I wonder if there's a town nearby."

"Then what're we waitin' here for?" Sonic asked, stretching his legs, "I say we find a town pronto, so we can find out where the heck this is."

Hunter nodded, and the three of them went off in hopes of finding a town.

Soon, though, Hunter noticed something in some bushes. "You two see that?"

"Yeah," Annet said, "think we should check it out?"

Sonic and Hunter both nodded, and Annet started to move in slowly. She moved the branches aside, and her eyed widened when she saw what it was. She stood up, and seemed to pray shortly.

"What is it?" Hunter asked.

"Some poor soul got lost in this forest it looks like," Annet replied, showing Hunter and Sonic what she'd found.

It appeared to be the skeletal remains of a humanoid, dressed in what remained of a suit of armor. A sword and shield lay next to the body; most likely this person had fallen in battle here, and was picked clean by scavengers.

"Think we should bury him?" Hunter asked.

"I think so," Annet said.

"I can probably dig a grave if I run in place fast enough," Sonic added.

Hunter nodded. "Good. You go look for a good spot."

Sonic then ran off at blazing speeds, as Hunter and Annet waited.

"Wonder who he was," Hunter said, "and what killed him."

"Me too," Annet replied, "but it's all the more reason to get out of this forest."

Soon, the two heard something. When they looked, they'd see that the skeleton was starting to reassemble itself in a standing position, holding its sword and shield, and entering a fighter's stance upon fully reforming.

"Uh-oh," Annet said.

"Not good," Hunter added, as the two prepared their weapons. Annet threw her boomerang, only for the skeleton to deflect it with its shield.

However, it had left itself open for Hunter to strike it in the side with his sword, causing it to nearly lose balance, and left it wide open for Annet to hit it with a fireball as Hunter ducked out of the way.

The force of the fireball caused the skeleton to break apart again, bones and armor going everywhere.

"Guess burying him's outta the question," Hunter said.

"Yeah," Annet replied.

However, it appeared to be too early to relax, as the bones and armor once again started to fly towards each other, the skeleton once again reforming perfectly. This time, they could clearly see what appeared to be red embers in the otherwise empty eye sockets, as it ran at Annet, swinging at her. She was barely able to avoid it when it moved into another swing, this time cutting a few strands of hair free as she backflipped.

"That was too close," she said, as she felt a sting on her cheek as blood became visible.

"Looks like we gotta take out that skull," Hunter said, with Annet nodding.

"You keep him busy," Annet said, "I'll try to blow him apart again."

Hunter came at the skeleton, sword in hand. The two managed to match each other blow-for-blow as Annet was gathering energy for her spell. However, when she fired, the skeleton was able to dodge at the last second, causing the fireball to hit Hunter, sending him flying backwards and crashing into a tree.

"Oh no!" Annet cried after hitting Hunter, starting to run to him, but being blocked by their foe, who knocked her off her feet with its shield, and then prepared to finish her off.

However, in the nick of time, a rapidly-spinning blue object struck it, causing it to break apart again. Acting quickly, Annet shot a fireball at the skull, destroying it. As she did, the bones, armor, sword, and shield all poofed in a dark cloud.

Sonic broke his spinning attack, and landed next to Annet, helping her get to her feet. "You two alright?"

"I think so," Annet said, "Oh no! Hunter!"

Soon, Hunter got back up and brushed himself off. His clothes looked a little singed, but otherwise he was fine. "You need to work on your aim," he said, smirking.

Annet giggled a bit. "Don't worry. I will."

Soon, though, they could hear footsteps, as more of the skeletons were starting to come to life.

"I think we should split," Sonic said.

"Duly noted." Hunter replied.

"Right behind you," Annet added, as the three of them fled, towards what they hoped was a town.

* * *

Meanwhile, a young girl was running around frantically. She had blue eyes, long black hair, and was dressed in a school uniform.

"Sakura!" she called out, "Where are you!"

She was very worried. Sakura hadn't arrived where they were supposed to meet before school that morning, and her brother said she never came home after school the previous afternoon, so he was out searching for her as well.

Soon, though, the girl stopped, thinking she heard someone call her name.

"Tomoyo," someone whispered nearby, "over here!"

The girl slowly walked over, and saw that the teenage Sakura was the one calling for her.

"Do I know you?" she asked, unable to recognize her friend, and a little frightened.

"It's me," Sakura replied, "I'm Sakura. A witch turned me into a teenager."

Tomoyo looked at her. She could tell it was still Sakura's voice she was hearing, but when she looked into Sakura's eyes, she knew.

"Oh, Sakura!" she cried happily, hugging her best friend tightly, "I just knew you were safe, I just knew it!"

Sakura was very startled by the sudden hug, but smiled. "Thanks. Now, can you let me breathe?"

"Sorry," Tomoyo said, letting go, "Do you know anything about the witch that did this?"

"Her name's Pandora," Sakura said, "she can drain the youth from young maidens in order to stay young forever, but…"

"But what?" Tomoyo asked, getting the picture of an evil witch that goes about kidnapping little girls and turning them into old hags to stay beautiful forever.

"…She drained mine by accident," Sakura said, "she seems like she regretted doing so. She said she needed a pure-hearted girl in order to undo the spell that made her like that, and I ran. She might need to sacrifice me in order to do it."

Then, the two heard footsteps, as Pandora arrived.

"You never let me explain beyond that," she said, "if I had intended to sacrifice you, then why would I promise to return you to your proper age?"

"Y-you may have only said what I wanted to hear so I wouldn't run off," Sakura replied, "I heard that's something people will do with their captives to keep them from escaping."

Pandora just looked sad hearing Sakura say that. "I meant it," she said, "I promise that if you help me, I'll be able to restore you."

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, "I want to believe you, really, but I don't think I can."

Pandora sighed. "I was hoping you'd come willingly," she said, "but I guess I have no choice…"

She pulled out the powder again, but before she could hold it to her mouth, Sakura grabbed Tomoyo's hand and ran off, heading towards the edge of town, near a railyard. Pandora put the powder away and gave chase.

* * *

Meanwhile, in said railyard, a young woman was training, running along the tracks, jumping over and between traincars, and swinging from crane cables.

She had long brown hair, blue eyes, and was dressed in a dark blue leotard underneath a pale blue summer jacket of the, with a high collar, and white stripes down the sides of the sleeves. She was also wearing a pair of tennis shoes.

After a short time, she walked over to her gym bag, having placed it near a water tower so she wouldn't lose track of it, and sat down, pulling out an energy bar and unwrapping it. As far as she was concerned, the railyard made a perfect obstacle course for her, with a variety of things to avoid, and the flexibility of thinking up new routes each time she went through.

However, soon she heard someone running towards her. She could see it was two girls, one looking around 10, the other around 16.

"Hey, hey," she said, "where's the fire?"

"T-there's a w-witch after us…" the older girl said, obviously out of breath at this point.

"Calm down," the young woman said, "here, both of you drink this."

With that, she pulled out two bottles of water and handed them to the girls.

"Thank you," the younger girl replied as they both began to drink.

"What was that about a witch?" the woman asked, "What does she look like?"

"Black hair, green eyes," the older girl said, "looks like she's around 20 years old."

"I'll keep an eye out while you two rest," the woman replied, "my name's Jennifer, by the way."

"I'm Sakura," the older girl replied, "and this is Tomoyo. It's nice to meet you, Jennifer"

Jennifer nodded, and went off to look for the witch the two girls had told her about, climbing into a box car in order to change into her gear.

Meanwhile, Pandora finally caught up to the two of them, and was panting, completely out of breath. "Please," she said, "I need your help, Sakura. My life depends on it."

"It does?" Sakura asked, surprised by this sudden revelation.

Pandora nodded. "The curse on me, that caused me to drain your youth, is also causing me to age more quickly than normal people. I can keep myself alive draining youth, or with a special potion to hold back the accelerated aging. But I need a pure-hearted girl in order to completely undo the curse, because a lock of hair from one will allow me to break it if cut off in a ritual"

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Sakura asked.

"Because you ran off before I got the chance," Pandora replied, with Sakura feeling a bit sheepish afterwards.

"Hang on," Sakura said, "let me introduce you to my best friend, Tomoyo."

"Hi," Tomoyo said, "so you're that witch?"

"'Witch' is the wrong word," Pandora said, "More accurately, I'm a sorceress."

However, soon, Pandora sensed something. "Both of you grab onto my cloak, and don't let go."

"Why?" Tomoyo asked.

"Just trust me!" Pandora said, as the girls obeyed.

And soon, a portal opened around Pandora, swallowing the three of them, with Sakura and Tomoyo screaming in fear.

Hearing that, Jennifer ran out, having only managed to change into her boots before she heard that, the boots being black and zipperless, stopping just below the knee. However, all she saw was the portal closing.

"Oh no!" she said, "They could end up anywhere." She began to look for anything that might be useful in reopening the portal so she could follow, running all around the yard.

Eventually, though, she found something interesting. It appeared to be a large red gemstone, glowing brilliantly with some strange power.

"A Chaos Emerald? Here?" Jennifer asked herself as she picked it up. Thinking quickly, she ran back to where the portal had been with the Emerald, thinking she could open it back up if she hurried.

She held the Emerald up, and it began to glow even brighter, as the portal reopened in front of Jennifer, just as she'd hoped. Without hesitation, she jumped into it, hoping to find the girls…

* * *

Note: The character Jennifer actually belongs to Mega Man Model T101, who allowed me to use her in this.


	4. The Numan

The Numan

Obsidian was keeping a watchful eye on his passenger as she slept. He couldn't help but wonder who, and what, this girl was, and why she'd been put in that capsule in the first place.

However, he did notice that her sleep did not appear to be a peaceful one, as she was tossing and turning in bed, obviously under a lot of distress…

* * *

_On a barren plain, two female figures stood, poised for combat. One was the young woman from Obsidian's ship, armed with a gauntlet that had retractable claws, while the other, armed with an energy sword, stood across from her._

_She was in shadow mostly; all that could really be seen about her were her long ears and hair, similar to the girl's own, and a pair of glowing red eyes._

_The two of them came at one another, and their weapons clashed. The girl jumped over her foe to strike from behind, but narrowly avoided being sliced in half by the energy sword at the last second._

_The shadowy figure leapt into the air, coming down sword-first at her opponent, who was barely able to roll out of the way, though it was already apparent that the girl was completely outmatched in terms of power and skill._

_She quickly came at the figure once more, yelling in desperation as she swung with her claws, managing to land a blow on her foe, but soon, she'd feel the energy sword pierce her abdomen._

_The figure pulled the blade out, and the girl fell to her knees, holding the wound, and quickly losing strength. She soon fell to the ground, and everything went dark, with the last thing she heard being manic laughter…_

* * *

Soon, the girl woke up, and shot into a sitting position, gasping for air and panting.

Without hesitation, Obsidian went over to her side. "What is it? What's wrong?"

The girl soon calmed down a little, and looked around slowly, before her red eyes landed on Obsidian. "Please," she said, obviously still in a panic, "tell me who you are, and where I am!"

"Calm down," Obsidian said, "my name is Obsidian Wolfe, and you're safe, aboard my ship. I found you in stasis in a laboratory, and I brought you here."

The girl started to calm down, looking into Obsidian's eyes. "W-was there anyone else in a pod?"

Obsidian shook his head. "Just you. Why?"

"I had a nightmare just now," she replied, "about another Numan…"

"Numan?" Obsidian asked.

"It's what I am," the girl said, "I dreamt I was fighting this other Numan, and in that dream, s-she…" Her voice trailed off, because she was unable to think of such an unpleasant subject.

"I understand," Obsidian said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Please, tell me your name."

The girl looked at him. The look in his eyes made her feel at ease. "It's Nei…"

"Can't say I've heard that name before," Obsidian said, smiling, "but, welcome aboard, Nei. Are you hungry at all after your nap?"

"Now that you mention it…" Nei said, as her stomach growled, causing her to blush faintly from embarrassment.

"Wait here," Obsidian said, as he went off to go get his guest something to eat.

Nei then took this time to look around the room. Besides the bed she was sitting on, which was quite comfortable, she could see a seat in front of some sort of console and a window of some sort, beyond which was nothing but stars, and a few panels and doors on the wall, one of which Obsidian had gone to, pressing buttons, and cycling through a menu it looked like, with images of what looked like food of various kinds.

She then looked down at herself. She was still dressed in the same leotard she'd been wearing when Obsidian had found her. Her arms and legs were still bare, though. Obsidian wasn't one to change a girl's clothes while she was sleeping.

Soon, the room was filled with a pleasant aroma, as Obsidian brought her a tray of food. She could see a bowl of hearty soup, a glass of juice of some sort, and a generous slice of chocolate cake.

"Thank you," she told him, "But…how did you make all this so fast?"

"I didn't make it, actually," Obsidian replied, "I'm actually not all that good a cook, but, that's why I fitted my ship with a food synthesizer, so I won't have to live off of rations between worlds. All the recipes in the database are from a friend of mine, and that cake's a specialty of his."

Nei nodded. "I see." She then tasted the soup, and, before Obsidian could say anything, Nei wolfed down the soup, not leaving so much as a drop of broth in the bowl.

"Good to see you like it," Obsidian said, surprised at how fast she'd eaten it, "now, try the cake."

Nei nodded, and took one bite of the cake. Her eyes widened, sparkling a little.

"I-I've never tasted anything like this…" she said, taking another bite.

"I thought you'd like it," Obsidian said, "but, if you want my opinion, you have to try the real thing. It blows this synthesized version completely out of the water."

Nei giggled a little after he said that.

"Anyway," Obsidian said, "We should get going once you're finished."

Nei nodded. "Where are we headed, exactly?"

"That depends," Obsidian said, "Anywhere you'd like to see, Nei?"

Nei began to think about it. There were plenty of things she'd love to see, so picking just one would be quite difficult. "Hmmmm…Honestly, I have no idea."

"Well, step right up to this screen, then," Obsidian said, showing her a small monitor, "pick a world, and we'll go there. Any world at all."

Nei nodded, and Obsidian helped her to her feet. She stumbled a little initially.

"Sorry,' she said, "I haven't been on my feet in a while."

"No problem," Obsidian replied, "didn't think you'd be used to walking after however long you were in there."

Once they got to the monitor, Nei began to scroll through the pictures of landmarks in each world. She stopped when she saw a large castle, in the middle of a beautiful field. "There! I want to go there!"

"Excellent choice, if I do say so myself," Obsidian said. He flipped a switch on the console, and another seat lifted out of the floor, beside his own. "Now sit down and strap in. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Nei nodded, and slowly made her way to the seat, sitting down immediately, and grabbing hold of the seat belt, buckling it around her waist, and nodding at Obsidian as he did the same, and grabbed the controls, flipping a few switches and inputting coordinates.

Soon, the stars faded as the ride did, in fact, get very bumpy, giving way to rainbow-colored clouds, with sparkles inside them.

"Welcome to Subspace," Obsidian said, "this is what lies between the many worlds of the Multiverse."

"It's so beautiful," Nei said, admiring the clouds.

"Yeah," Obsidian said, "but, there's literally nothing outside this ship. Those 'clouds' represent the world boundaries. Inside each and every one is a different world. And if I recall, the one you chose will be coming up in 3…2…1…"

And right on cue, they entered one of the clouds, and the ship shook violently as it went through the boundary…

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes after a bright flash, and she found herself in an unfamiliar city, full of people she didn't know, some with strange devices strapped to their left arms. The streets were lined with stores and other businesses, which, thankfully, had their signs written in Japanese.

"W-where are we?" she asked, very nervous.

"Another world," Pandora explained, "recently, something caused the boundaries between worlds to weaken, causing holes leading to other worlds to open and close without warning. If we're lucky, we'll-Sakura, what's that at your feet?"

Sakura looked down. "I dunno. It kinda looks like a broken crystal…ball…Oh no! Miranda! Can you hear me!"

Soon, she'd hear Pandora screaming, and she'd turn around to see a black-haired girl with what looked like cat ears and a tail, and she had Pandora pinned, claws extended on her upraised hand.

"Let her go!" Tomoyo yelled.

"First, she has to answer one question. Why did you seal me in that crystal ball?"

Sakura recognized the catgirl's voice as belonging to Miranda.

"I panicked," Pandora said, "I was worried you'd call the authorities on me. I really did not mean any harm."

Miranda just glared at her, as if poised to strike.

"She's telling the truth," Sakura said, "she has a curse on her that's killing her, and she needs a maiden's to undo it."

Miranda looked at Sakura, and calmed down, retracting her claws and relaxing her grip on Pandora. However, she then blinked a bit and looked around, obviously not familiar with her new surroundings.

"Um…if you don't mind my asking," she said, "where are we? This isn't New York."

"Domino City," Sakura said, pointing, "It says so on that sign."

Miranda smiled sheepishly looking at it. "I'll take your word for it. Can't read a word of Japanese."

"We should probably go explore," Tomoyo said, "I'll go with Sakura, so you and Pandora should go together too."

"Good idea," Pandora said, "we'll go towards that big building, and you two go…in some other direction."

All three girls nodded, and the two pairs went off in different directions.

* * *

Elsewhere, Jennifer landed on a rooftop after using the Chaos Emerald. She instinctively looked around the area, seeing if she could recognize where she was. She hadn't the foggiest, but when she looked down, she could see Pandora walking along, with what looked like a catgirl.

"I thought those only existed in anime," she commented, as she jumped along rooftops to follow the two of them, wanting to know where they were headed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura and Tomoyo were looking around town as they walked.

"What are those things on people's arms?" Tomoyo asked, "They look like giant wristwatches."

"You're right," Sakura replied, "but, why do they have a slot in the front and on the side, or those blade-looking things with the spaces?"

The two girls could only guess as they continued onward, both too enthralled in their surroundings to look where they were going.

Soon, Sakura bumped into a boy with a very unusual hairdo. The cardboxes on both of their belts came loose, and came open when they hit the ground, sending cards everywhere.

"I-I'm so sorry," Sakura said, starting to get up, "I wasn't paying attention."

She saw that the boy had already gotten to his feet, and held his hand out to help her up. "No big deal. I was deep in thought myself."

Meanwhile, Tomoyo was panicking, darting around and catching all the cards that were caught in the wind. When she had them all, she looked at some of them. They definitely weren't Sakura's cards.

"Um, are these cards yours?" she asked the boy, showing him the cards she'd retrieved.

"Yeah," the boy said, taking them, "thanks for gathering them for me."

"Hey," Sakura said, "What's with all those strange things everyone's wearing? You've got one too."

"Oh, this?" he asked, holding it up, "it's a Duel Disk. We use them to play Duel Monsters."

Sakura obviously didn't understand what that was at first, but then remembered the cards. "Oh, it's a trading card game. How do the Duel Disks come into this?"

"It'll be easier to demonstrate than to explain," the boy said, as he inserted his deck into the front slot. The blades on either side converged in front, and folded to the side with the red slot. He then drew a card, and placed it onto one of the five spaces. It depicted a brown ball of fur with large green paws, and two huge eyes.

Soon, the same creature that was on the card appeared in a flash of light in front of the boy, causing both girls to jump in surprise, and then squeal, with simultaneous cries of "IT'S SO CUTE!"

They tried to hug it, but ended up passing right through it, colliding with one another, and landing on their bottoms.

"An illusion?" Sakura asked.

"You're half-right," the boy said, "it's a hologram."

"Ohhh," Sakura and Tomoyo said.

"Anyway," the boy said, "my name's Yugi. Who are you two?"

"My name's Sakura," Sakura replied, "and this is my best friend, Tomoyo."

Tomoyo bowed slightly as her name was mentioned.

"It's nice to meet you," Yugi said, "Would either of you be interested in learning how to play? I've got some spare time on my hands."

"I would," Sakura said.

"Follow me then," Yugi said, "my grandpa owns a game store, and we have plenty of cards on hand for you to use."

He then started off, leading the girls back to his grandfather's store.


	5. The Elf

The Elf

Hunter, Annet, and Sonic finally arrived at a village after their encounter with the skeletons in the forest. The village looked peaceful enough, and all the buildings looked as if they' been carved out of gigantic tree stumps.

Sonic appeared to be quite amazed by the look of the village, but it appeared as though his companions were too exhausted to care when he turned around to say something.

"That…was too close…" Hunter said, panting.

"Yeah…" Annet replied, looking just as tired, if not a little more so. "Let's…see if the villagers are friendly…"

The two of them started for the village, when they noticed something. It wasn't that the buildings looked to be made of trees, but instead that the whole village seemed to be populated by children, no older than 12 by the looks of it. They were all dressed in green, which was expected given the area, and, fluttering around their heads were small balls of light, and Annet could tell what they could probably be.

"Are those…" she started, rather amazed, "Fairies?"

Before Hunter or Sonic could answer, the children started to come over, around the three of them. They didn't look like they wanted to harm the three of them. If anything, they looked curious, as if there were something about them that was strange to the children.

"Um…" Hunter said, "Hello."

The children looked at him. "Hello." One said back.

They seemed quite friendly by the looks of things.

"Welcome to Kokiri Forest," one girl said, with long green hair tied into pigtails, "We're the Kokiri. Who might you three strangers be?"

"My name's Hunter," Hunter replied.

"You can call me Annet."

"And I'm Sonic."

"Those are strange names," the girl said, smiling cutely at them, "my name's Fado. Are you from outside the forest?"

"Well…" Annet replied, "You could say that."

"Hey," Sonic said, "you got anything to eat? We've been wandering the forest for a while now."

"Follow me," Fado said, as she led them into the village, towards a food storage area. Hunter, Annet, and Sonic noticed that it was full of nuts, seeds, fruits, and berries, all looking very colorful, and the fruit smelling lovely.

"We've got plenty," Fado said, "just take what you want."

With that, Hunter, Annet, and Sonic each grabbed a few pieces of fruit, and went off to look around town while they ate.

The village looked to mostly be made up of houses. They saw a training area and a shop, but the rest of the buildings were all houses from the looks of things. They did see a path that led to another area of the village, with a Kokiri standing in front of it, and Annet went over to see what was that way.

"Hey," she said to the Kokiri boy, "what's back there?"

"This path leads to the Great Deku Tree," the Kokiri answered, "He'll probably want to see you shortly."

Annet nodded. "Got it." She then headed back to her companions, who seemed to be finished eating.

"So," Hunter said, "Is there anywhere the three of us can rest a bit?"

"Hold it, Hunter," Annet said, "We should first go see the Deku Tree, before we do anything else."

Hunter and Sonic seemed confused as to why they'd need to see a tree about anything, but followed Annet to where the path was, and the Kokiri boy stepped aside, letting them pass.

Soon, they came to a large grove, and in the center was a large tree, with bark that made it look as if it had eyebrows and a moustache. Before any of them could react, the tree moved slightly, and began to speak.

"Greetings, strangers," it said, in a deep voice, "I am the Great Deku Tree."

"My name is Annet Myer," Annet said, "and these are my friends, Hunter Drake, and Sonic the Hedgehog."

"To what purpose have thou entered this forest?" the Deku Tree asked.

"We found ourselves in this forest after being transported here from another world," Annet replied, "We were hoping you would be able to tell us where we are now, and how we may return to our own world."

"Ah, I see," the Deku tree replied, "As thou has likely been informed already, this is Kokiri Forest, which lies to the south of the land of Hyrule. As for how thou would be able to return to thy own realm, I do not know. However, I do know where thou might find such knowledge."

"Where would that be?" Sonic asked.

"Head to the north of here once thou exit the forest," the Deku Tree continued, "There lies Hyrule Castle. Surely thou shall find those who hold the information there."

Annet nodded. "Hyrule Castle, got it," she said, "who may we find there?"

"Princess Zelda will be able to tell you more," The Deku Tree replied, "For now, thy journey has surely been a long and tiring one. The Kokiri are a friendly folk, they will not mind if thou choose to rest here until thy strength has returned."

The three of them nodded in response.

"Thank you for your help, Great Deku Tree," Annet said.

With that, the three of them departed the grove, heading back into the village to get some rest before departing.

* * *

As the ship passed through the boundary, Obsidian and Nei could see they were above a desert region, with a canyon right below them, and some amazing rock features.

Soon, Obsidian touched down on one side of the canyon, and walked over to his companion.

"Shall we?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Nei smiled as she took his hand and stood up. "But, first I should get the rest of my gear, don't you think?"

"Good thinking," Obsidian said, as he motioned to the box Nei's gear was in, the same one from the room he'd found her in. Nei quickly went over, picked up the box, and sat back down. First, she put on her boots, which went up to her knees, and then her gloves, which nearly went to her shoulders.

Both the gloves and boots were the same purple as her hair and leotard. The boots were flat-footed, and had silver knee-guards attached, while the gloves had silver circles just above her elbows, and had some armor on the wrists and hands as well, while her fingers were still bare.

Nei then flicked her arms slightly, and four metal claws extended from each glove.

"Impressive," Obsidian said.

Nei smiled, as she put the claws away. "Thanks. Now, let's get going."

"Right," Obsidian said, as he opened the hatch, which released a small cloud of sand when it touched the ground.

"Welcome to Gerudo Valley," he said, "to the east is Hyrule Field, and to the west is the Gerudo's Fortress. Which do you wanna see first?"

"How about…" Nei said, "The fortress?"

"Alright," Obsidian said, "but we'd better not draw attention to ourselves. The Gerudo don't exactly take kindly to outsiders."

Nei nodded. "I'll be careful."

With that, Obsidian and Nei began to carefully make their way around the compound. It had multiple levels to it, and each level had more than one doorway leading inside. To one side they could see a large gate, leading into the dessert, and to the other, what looked like an area set up to practice horseback archery, given that the Gerudo standing there was next to a horse, and the fact that there were multiple targets and jars set up.

They could also see that the place was crawling with guards, all of which were female, with dark skin and red hair, most of which were armed with glaives and dressed in purple clothing, in a somewhat Arabian-looking style.

"I only see women," Nei whispered, "where are the men?"

"There aren't any," Obsidian whispered back, "save for one, but he's not here thankfully. Now, how about we head to Castle Town from here? There's someone I think we should meet."

Nei nodded and turned to head back to the ship, only to find four glaives pointed at her and Obsidian.

"State your business," a Gerudo ordered the two of them.

"W-we didn't want any trouble," Nei said, getting a little nervous, "We were just looking around the desert, honest."

Obsidian turned around hearing the commotion. "She's right," he added, "in fact, we were just leaving, right Nei?"

Nei nodded. "Right."

"You're not going anywhere," the Gerudo said, "Not until you tell us who you are and why you're really here."

Panicking a little, Nei grabbed Obsidian's arm, and bolted back towards the ship. Three of the four Gerudo gave chase, while the fourth tossed her glaive in their direction.

Nei let go of Obsidian's hand, and the two of them rolled in different directions, so the glaive hit the sand right where they had been. However, soon all the guards came running, some armed with swords instead of glaives.

Soon, Nei and Obsidian found themselves moving further and further apart while trying to avoid getting hit by the Gerudos' weapons, Nei heading towards the ship, and Obsidian ending up heading deeper into the desert. Obsidian saw that they were closing the gate into the desert in hopes of cutting off his retreat, and was able to roll underneath it at the last second. He looked back to see if Nei was able to follow, but saw she was running the other way. He hoped she'd be safe long enough for him to find another way back in, and continued into the desert.

* * *

Nei kept running, dodging and blocking blows from her pursuers, but never actually striking back. When she got to the ship, she decided it was too risky to get into the ship, and ran towards the canyon. She looked down, and saw there was a river at the bottom. Deciding it was her only way to get away and get help, and looking back to see the Gerudos closing in, Nei took a few steps back, and dove off of the edge, landing in the river below.

* * *

Meanwhile, further into the desert, there was a female elf, traveling alone. She had long, blond hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a green tunic, brown leather boots and armguards, and dark blue armor on her upper body and shoulders, with a long cape attached. On her belt was a scabbard, containing a rapier.

She was just walking along, occasionally stopping to look around as she went. "Nothing around here but sand and rocks, it seems," she said to herself, "I just hope there's a town at the end of it."

She took a few steps, when she heard something moving beneath the sand. Instinctively, she put her hand on her sword to draw it, should something pop out and attack her. Sure enough, a few strange creatures popped out around her. They looked like cacti of some sort, but their spines were arranged at the top around an opening, looking like teeth.

A couple of them came charging at her, but she was able to jump out of the way, and hit one with her sword. It let out a cry of pain, and went back into the sand, while three more came at her when she landed. The elf had barely enough time to strike them with her sword, managing to send two of them retreating, and slicing the third in two, releasing a spray of a thin green liquid, most likely stored water and food.

Once she was certain the remaining creatures had retreated, the elf then sheathed her sword, and continued on her way. However, she'd soon feel something shift beneath her feet. Thinking it was another predator of some sort; she put her hand back onto the hilt of her sword. Soon, however, she'd notice a strange feeling coming from her feet, and looked down, to see that she was quickly sinking down into the sand as it shifted beneath her, having already sunk to her shins.

Her eyes widened, as she tried lifting her feet one at a time, but found the other sank slightly faster when she did so. Then, she did a short hop, to try to pull both feet out at once. However, the sand shifted suddenly when she did, so she ended up sinking to her knees afterwards. Panicking a little, she grabbed hold of one leg with both hands, and tried to pull it out of the sand, but again, she was getting nowhere fast, and soon gave up on trying to pull free of the sand that way.

As she sank to about her thighs, she quickly took a look around, trying to see anything she might be able to grab onto to pull herself free. She did see a rock that looked like it would make a good handhold to use, and stretched out as far as she could to try and reach it. At first, she could only touch the rock with her fingertips, but when she leaned just a little bit more, she was able to get a grip on it, and started to try and pull herself free. However, she wouldn't make much progress before the rock came loose, and she sank back into the sand, about up to her waist now.

At this point, the elf realized she had only one real chance, and prayed someone was around. "Somebody! Anybody!" she cried out, "Help me!" As she called out, the put her hands onto the ground, and started trying to push herself out. Thankfully, her hands wouldn't sink into the sand, but she wouldn't be able to pull herself free either.

Soon, she would sink down to her chest, but she saw a young man come running over. "Give me your hands!" he said, holding out his arms. The elf wasted no time, and grabbed hold of his arms, allowing him to pull her free.

Once she was free, the elf sat down and rested a little, still a little shocked at what just happened. "Thank you," she said, "I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't come along like that."

"It was nothing," the young man said, "name's Obsidian Wolfe, by the way."

"Well, I owe you a lot, Obsidian Wolfe," the elf said, starting to get up and brush the sand off her body.

"What can I call you?" Obsidian asked, wanting to know the name of the girl he'd just saved.

"My name is Deedlit," the elf replied, smiling sweetly, "If I may say so, your clothes are quite peculiar. I've never seen clothing like it before."

"Well," Obsidian said, "I'm not exactly from around here. I came here with a friend just recently, and…"

"And what?" Deedlit asked.

"I have to get back to the fortress," Obsidian said, "We'd gotten separated trying to evade capture. I have to go back and see if she's alright."

"Oh," Deedlit said, "Then I'll come with you. You might need backup, and I owe you one after all."

Obsidian nodded, but before they could get moving, they heard galloping, and soon they were surrounded by Gerudos on horseback, all pointing glaives at them.

"We finally caught up with you," one of them said, "We can't have you discovering the path to our temple, after all. Now surrender your weapons and come quietly if you don't want to get hurt."

Obsidian put his hands up, and Deedlit, not wanting to fight if she didn't have to, detached her sword from her belt, and tossed it to a Gerudo, who caught it. The group then escorted the two of them back to the fortress…

* * *

Nei ended up in a lake at the end of the river. After riding the swift current all the way down the river, she was glad she was finally in a soft, gentle current, where she'd be able to relax a little, and just float by as she caught her breath. After a little bit, though, she'd see something sparkle at the bottom of the lake. Curious, she dove down, swimming to see that it was that she saw.

When she got to it, she found it was a key, and carefully went to pick it up; figuring whoever dropped it might be looking for it. She then started to swim to the surface, but suddenly felt something tugging on her leg. She looked down, and saw that she'd gotten tangled in seaweed while she was picking up the key.

She tried to untangle herself, but found the seaweed was too strong for her to rip. Thinking quickly, she extended one of the claws on her glove, and began to cut the seaweed. In no time, she was able to get herself free, and quickly swam up to the surface before anything else could happen, keeping a good grip on the key she'd found. However, she was starting to get rather tired.

* * *

Meanwhile, on another shore of the lake, a young man was sitting beside the lake, fishing. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and was clad in a green tunic and hat, with a white shirt and pants underneath, and leather gauntlets and boots. Strapped to his back was a scabbard, containing a sword with a blue handle, and a wing-shaped guard, and attached to the scabbard was a metal shield, decorated with a crest of some sort.

Soon, she saw a girl swimming to shore, looking like she was slowing down as she went on. Quickly, he set his fishing pole and gear down, and dove into the water, swimming towards her as fast as she could. It didn't take long for him to reach her, and he quickly grabbed onto her, and helped her swim to shore.

Once they were to the shallows, the young man carried the girl out of the water, and set her on the ground, away from the water.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, sitting beside her.

"Yeah," the girl said, "I was just resting after coming from the fortress."

"You came from the Gerudo's fortress?" the young man asked, "Did they see you?"

The girl nodded. "I was separated from my friend. I hope he's okay."

The young man nodded. "Then I guess we should go see. By the way, what's your name?"

"Nei," the girl replied, "what's yours?"

"Link," the young man replied, "it's nice to meet you, Nei."

Soon, Link got up, and pulled out a blue ocarina. He played a song into it, and Nei just listened to it. She'd never heard it before or anything, but it was a soothing melody, and she felt a lot better after hearing it.

Soon, they'd hear galloping, and Nei thought she'd been followed by the Gerudos, but soon, she saw a red horse running towards them, with a white mane and ankles. She seemed frightened by it, and backed away slowly.

"Relax," Link said, taking the ocarina away from his lips, "Epona isn't gonna hurt you."

"Epona?" Nei asked, baffled.

Link nodded. "That's the horse's name."

Nei got to her feet, and slowly reached to touch Epona's head. Epona allowed her to do so, and Nei smiled, feeling safer now.

"We'd better hurry," Link said, climbing onto Epona, and holding out his hand. Nei looked at it, feeling a little nervous.

"What?" Link asked, "Never ridden a horse before?"

Nei shook her head. "They don't have horses where I'm from."

"I see," Link replied, "well, take my hand then. The fastest way to the fortress is on horseback."

Nei nodded, and took Link's hand. He pulled her onto the horse, setting her right behind him.

"Now hold on!" he said, giving Nei time to put her arms around her before riding off.

Nei was excited, she was having a blast riding on horseback for the first time, with how the wind hit her face, and went through her hair.

"Wheeee!" she yelled, unable to contain her excitement as they rode off, towards Gerudo Valley.


End file.
